Large corrugated containers are widely used for shipment of large manufactured items, as well as for storage and shipment of particulate material such as plastic resin pellets. Containers of this nature are typically formed from a pre-scored corrugated blank by folding the blank about score lines thereof to bring portions of the blank into juxtaposition to form an adhesive joint. Such a joint is referred to in the art as a "manufacturer's joint", with the resultant folded blank having a flattened, tubular configuration. The flattened, folded container body blanks are subsequently "opened" for use to form shipping containers.
In order to enhance the strength of such containers, it is frequently desirable to laminate a prescored liner in registry with the so-called panel portions of the container blank. Lamination of the liner to selected portions of each body blank provides the desired strength for the resultant container, and permits efficient formation of the final container by folding of unlaminated, so-called end flap portions of the body blank.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 383,581, filed June 1, 1982, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,563,169, Jan. 7, 1986, discloses an apparatus and method for very efficiently folding and gluing prescored container body blanks such as described above. One of the coinventors of the present invention is a named coinventor of the above application, with ownership of the present application being common with said coinventor's undivided interest in the above application. The aforesaid application additionally illustrates lamination of a liner to selected portions of the container body blank prior to folding and gluing of the body blank. The present invention concerns a number of significant improvements to the method and apparatus of the aforesaid patent application, including a highly automated and accurate arrangement for cyclically laminating prescored corrugated liners to prescored corrugated container body blanks.